Process of making siding elements



March 31, 1936. c. R. r-:cKER'r PROCESS OF MAKING SIDING ELEMENTS ATTORNEY Filed oet. 31, 1931 Patented Mar. 3l, 1936 STATES PROCESS OF MAKING SIDING ELEMENTS Clarence R. Eckert, Englewood, N. J., assignor to The Barrett Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 31, 1931, Serial No. 572,325

8 Claims.

This invention is directed to siding elements, and more particularly, to siding elements of the felt base type, coated with waterproofing material and surfaced with granular material.

One object of this invention is to provide asiding element instrip form, durable and resistant to wear and weather, which can be readily applied to walls or other surfaces even by unskilled workmen, and which when applied in overlapping courses simulates the usual brick wall. Another object is to provide an efficient process of producing such sidingv elements. Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description, takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a side elevation, somewhat diagrammatic in character and shows the steps involved in the manufacture of the siding element of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a-fragmentary plan view of the coating, tissue paper applying, and surfacing apparatus, a portion of the sheet being shown in plan for the sake of clearness and to indicate the relative position of the tissue paper covered and surfaced portions of the sheet;

Fig. 3 is' a front elevation, partlyin section, of the tissue paper applying device;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a coated and surfaced 'base and indicates the layout for cutting the base into individual elements;.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a siding element and illustrates a preferred embodimentof this in Vention;

Fig. 6 is-a vertical section through element of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a number of'overlapping courses, each composed of the siding elements of this invention laid in abutting relationship; and I Fig. 8 is a vertical section through a modified form of siding element.

.Referring to the drawing, with particular ref- Aerence to Fig. 1, a sheet of fibrous material -I,

the siding which may be, and preferably is, of the usual roofing felt made'from rag fiber and paper stock with or-without suitable fillers as well known in this art, is fed by feed rolls 2 from, the usual paper making machine or felt roll into looping device 3. From the looping device 3, rolls 4 feed the sheet into any-customary type of saturating apparatus, indicated generally by the reference 1 numeral 5. Saturating tank 6 may contain suitable cementitious waterproofing composition, such as asphalt or other bituminous material,

utilized for the impregnation and saturation of roofing felts.

Rolls 'I and 8 feed the saturated sheet to a second looping device 9. The passage of the saturated base through the looping device 9 gives the saturant the necessary opportunity to dry and thoroughlyA impregnate the brous base. Rolls II and I2 feed the saturated sheet from the looping device 9 to the coating appliances indicated by the reference numeral I3. Rolls I2 are preferably driven at a slightly greater peripheral speed than that of coating rolls I4, I5, the slack accumulating between driven rolls I2 and guide rolls I6, over which the sheet passes before entering the bite vof the coating rolls I4,I I5. Coating roll I5 is rotatably mounted in a tank I1. This tank may contain bituminous material such as asphalt or other cementitious waterprooflng substances suitable for coating roofing felt.

The base of the sheet If is completely coated by roll I5. Waterproong material is applied to the top of .the sheet by means of pipe I8 equipped with a discharge spout I9 of a' width approximately equal to that of the sheet', as shown in Fig. 2. The coating material is spread uniformly over the top and bottom of the sheet as it passes between the coating rolls I4, I5.

Immediately upon leaving the coating appliance and while the coating material is still tacky,

the coated sheet passes under the tissue paper,

' tive position with respect to the face of the sheet.

Rolls of tissue paper 26' or light weight kraft' paper or other paper or fabric 'of any desired color are rotatably mounted on a shaft 21, carried by frame 22. In the embodiment ofthe invention disclosed in the drawing, four rolls 26 are shown, the end rolls functioning to apply a band or stripe 28 to the marginalportins of the sheet I, the outer edge of the tissue p'aper coinciding with the outer edges of the base I.l The interior rolls are of a width double that of the end rolls and supply tissue paper to form the intermediate parallel, relatively wide, bands or stripes 29. As indicated above, due to the -iiexible suspension of frame 22, thev strips of tiss'ue paper vare supplied throughout the longitudinal extent of the base I, covering substantially parallel longitudinal portions, irrespective of the transverse movement of the sheet. The tissue roll 34, which functions to partially embed the'. granular material in the plastic coating. The

tissue paper coveredportions being noncementltious,-granules do not adherethereto and upon the sheet leaving roller 34, the granules resting on the tissue paper covered portions and th excess granules on the granular embedded portions fall on? therefrom into hopper 3|, from whence they were delivered onto the base In the continued passage of the surfaced sheet, it comes under the hopper 35. Mica dust, talc, or other composition capable of rendering the back of the sheet. non-cementitious is` deposited in hopper 35 and discharged therefromby distribut- I uct is given an opportunity to cool.

. ends thereof and with the median line of the ,wide

ing roll 36. 'Ihe overreversing roll 31, which imparts a smooth surface to the back of the sheet. Excess talc falls oif from the base as the latter passes from roll 31 to the drying and pressing rolls 38. Hopper 35 is preferably so positioned that' the excess talc falls back thereinto, as shown in Fig. 1.

Feed rolls 4| -feed the sheet from the pressing rolls' 38 into a looping device 42, where the prod- From the looping rack 42, the surfaced sheet passes through rolls 43 to the cutting cylinders 44. These cylinders simultaneously cut rows of slots 45 in the granular surfaced portions of the sheet. The individual slots 45 of each row are of a length preferably equal| to the width of the. granularv surfaced portions 33. The sheet is simultaneousv1y cut longitudinally along longitudinal lines 41 slots 46 midway 4between the intersecting the also along lines 48 coinciding tissue paper covered portions 29. Simultaneously with the longitudinal. cutting operations,l the base is cut transversely along lines indicated by the reference numeral 5|.

The transverse cuts 5| are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the length of the desired' element and arev shaped as shown in Fig. 4 softhat one transverse edge of each element is formed with a triangulartransverse edge is provided'with a complemental recess. Preferably the slotting and the longi- V tudinal and transverse cutting operations are accomplished by passing the surfaced base through cutting rolls which substantially simultaneously make alli the cuts, but they may be formed in any desired order, the slotting operation preceding or following the cutting of the base into longitudinal strips. From the cutting rolls 44, the out sheet passes through tab knocker and ejector cylinders 52 of any well known type which remove portions of the material cut out to form slots and adhere to the cut sheets.4 From the tab ejector mechanism, the individual elements pass to suittalc covered sheet then passesv projection while the other able stacking appliances 1|, indicated dlagrammatically on Fig. 1 of the drawing. c

-The siding element resulting from the' above described. operations is shown on Figs. 5A and 6. It

consists of a felt base 55 having coatings-56 of bi- 1 tuminous or other waterproofing composition on both sides thereof. Tissue paper 51 covers the topcoating 5B, the tissuel paper extending from the upper longitudinal edge of the element down to the upper edge of the slots between the rec* tangular tabs disposed along one longitudinal edgeof the siding element. The tabs have gran- Due to the fact that the layer of granular material 58 is substantially thicker than the thickness of the tissue paper, the forward exposed portion of the .element is of greater thickness than' the upper unexposedportion. Mica dust or talc 'ular material 58 partially embedded therein.A

layer 59 covers the rear surface of the element.

Side edge 6| is formed with a triangular projection 62 and the other side edge 63 has a complemental recess 64. l Y

, The element of Figs. 5 and 6 is designed to be laid'in-overlapping courses with the triangular projection 62 snugly fitting within the recess -64 of a contiguous element inthe same course asv .shown in the top course of Fig. '7. Hence, the

'triangular projection and complemental recess aid in aligning the elements ineach course. a The forward edges of the elements of one course are laid so that they occur above the upper edge of the slots of the elements of an underlying course.

Application of the siding elementsV in this manner results in black (the color of the tissue paper covered portions) longitudinal slots 66 and black transverse slots 61 contrasting with the `red or brick color of the surfaced tabs. Fig. 7, the resultant arrangement ofthe elements resembles a brick wall.

The siding element of Fig. 8 vhas the body portion thereof completely covered with fine granular material 12, partially embedded in the coating The granular material 58, which may be crushed rock, slate, or other grit employed for surfacing roongs, on the tabs of the 'elements of Fig. 8 is much -coarser than the fine granules 12. As one example of the mesh characteristics of the coarse granular material 58 suitable for covering the tab portions, the following is given:

Per cent .Retained on the 6 mesh screen.. 0 Retained on the 8 mesh sc reen ..approximately 19 Retained on the l() mesh screenapproximutey GT Retained 011v the 14 mesh screen approximately 12 -Retnined on the 20 mesh screen npproximately 1.5 Retained on the' 28 mesh screenapproximately 0.5

I It will be noted that the-major portion vof granules 58 covering the tabs is retained on-a 10 mesh screen whereas the major portion of the ne granules 12 covering the body portion of the element passes through a 35 mesh screen. The use of granular material of such extremes in mesh characteristics for surfacing the body portion and the tabs of the elements results in the tab portions having the appearance of substan- As appears from layer 51. One exampleof the mesh characteristlcs of ane granular material suitable for surfacing the body portion is as follows:

Per cent Retained on a 2 8 mesh screen 0 to 5' Retained on a 35 mesh screen... 20 to 40 Retained on a 48 mesh screen v- 30 to 50 Retained on a 60 mesh screen 15 to 25 Retained on a 1,00 mesh screen 3 to 8 Passing through mesh screen r 0 to 2 tially greater thickness than the body portion. The'elements of Fig. 8 are laid in overlapping relation in coursesin much the same manner as illustrated in Fig. 7 'in connection with the siding elements of Fig. 5. Thus a narrow strip of fine granular material corresponding to the exposed portion, represented by the reference numeral 66, is exposed between adjacent courses of elements. The ne granular material thus exposed and that exposed through the slots separating the tabs of the elements contrasts with the coarse granular material of the tabs. `Utilizing blue-black ne granules and red or other brick colored coarse granules for `surfacing the body portion and tab portions of the elements, respectively, the application of the elements in overlapping courses results in the iine granular portions surrounding each` tab simulating mortar disposed about the brick appearing tab portions. In other words, the elements, when laid in overlapping courses impart to the observer the appearance of a brick wall, the mortar simulating portions appearing to be depressed about the confines of thebrick portions, as in actual brick wall construction.

In fabricating the elements of Fig. y8, apparatus such as shown in Fig. 1 may be utilized except that hopper 3l is provided with six partitions to divide it into seven compartments, each of a width corresponding with the width of a band or stripe of granular material applied to the coated felt base. Coarse and iine granules are placed in alternate compartments so that when the coated sheet passes thereunder, the coarse granules cover the stripes or bands represented by the reference numeral 33 and the ne granules cover the areas designated by the reference numerals 28, 29. ',Ihe thus surfacedfabric is then treated as described in connection with the siding element of Fig. 5 to form the desired end product depicted in Fig. 8.

It will be noted that the siding element of this invention involves substantially no waste in its manufacture; can be readily applied even by unskilled workmen; and when applied in the intended manner simulates a brick wall. The tissue paper covers the major portion of the element and since tissue paper costs less than the granular surfacing material, the elements of this invention are more economical to manufacture than the usual granular surfaced shingle element, and this without .interfering with the weathering -properties thereof. The asphalt or other bituminous coating composition covered by the tissue paper eiciently protects the felt base from weathering influences. Further, owing to the tissue paper covering and granular surfacing, the siding elements may be readily packed and unpacked without danger of one element adhering to-another in the package.

Since certain changes in carrying out the above process, and certain modiiications in the article which embody the invention may be made without departing from lits scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. The process of making siding elements, which comprises completely coating one face of a felt base with cementitious waterproong material, applying narrow strips of tissue paper to spaced longitudinal areas of said coated base, surfacing' the remaining areas of said coated base mth granular material, and cutting said base longitudinally and transversely into siding elements.

2. The process of making siding elements hav-- ing rectangular tabs along one longitudinal edge thereof, which comprises completely coating a felt base with bituminous material, applying strips of tissue paper to spaced longitudinal, substantially parallel, areas of said coated base, partially embedding granular material in the coated areas not covered by said tissue paper, cutting rows of spacedslots through said granular surfaced longitudinal areas, and cutting transversely through the tissue paper covered longitudinal areas and longitudinally along lines intersecting the rows of slots to form said elements.

3. The process of making siding elements, which comprises completely coating one face of a felt Vbase with cementitious waterproofing material, applying narrow sheets of non-cementitious material to spaced longitudinal areas of said coated base thereby leaving uncovered spaced cementitious areas of said coating material, said spaced uncovered cementitious areas being continuous in a direction longitudinally of the sheet, surfacing said continuous cementitious areas with granular material, and cutting said base longitudinally and transversely into siding elements.

4. The process of making siding elements having rectangular tabs along one longitudinal edge thereof, which comprises completely coating one face of the saturated felt base with bituminous material, continuously applying strips of tissue paper to the longitudinal marginal portions of the felt base, with one edge of the tissue paper substantially coinciding with the side edges of the felt base, and simultaneously applying parallel strips of tissue paper to the intermediate portion of the base, the intermediate strips of tissue paper being of width substantially double that of the marginal strips and being spaced apart and substantially parallel to each other, partially embedding granular material in the longitudinal portions not covered by said tissue paper, cutting rows of slots through the portions having the granular material thereon, said slots being of a length approximately equal to the width of the granular surfaced portion, cutting the base longitudinally substantially midway between the intermediate tissue paper covered portions, and also midway between the slots of each row, and also transversely through 'the tissue paper covered portions, the transverse cuts being spaced apart a distance corresponding to the length of the individual siding element.

5. The process of making siding elements which comprises completely coating one face of a felt base with a layer of cementitious waterproofing material of uniform thickness, partially embedding fine granular material in spaced longitudinal substantially parallel areas of said coating, surfacing the remaining areas of said coated base with coarse granular material, and cutting said base longitudinally and transversely into siding elements.

6. The process of making siding elements having rectangular tabs along one longitudinal edge of the body portion thereof, which comprises completely coating a felt base with bituminous material, applying strips of tissue paper to spaced longitudinal substantially parallel areas of said coated base, each strip of tissue paper being of a width equal to at least the width of the body portion of the siding element and contiguous strips being spaced apart a distance equal to at least the depth` ofthe tabs, partially embedding granular material in the coated areas lnot covered by said tissue paper, cutting rows of spaced slots through s aid granular surfaced areas. and cutting the resultant felt base longitudinally and transversely to form said elements.

7. The process of making siding elements having rectangular tabs along one longitudinal edge'v of the body portion thereof, which comprises completely coating a felt base with waterproong material, rendering selected spaced independent substantially parallel longitudinal areas noncementitious, partially embedding granular material in the remaining areas of said base, cutting longitudinal rows of spaced slots in' the granular surfaced areas oi.' said basan `each slot in each row being of a length approximately equal to the width of the granular-surfaced por--v tion in which the row ofislots is cut, cutting the base longitudinally substantially midway between Athe slots of each row and also midway between ItheV said non-cementitious areas and transversely ,.offsaid granular surfaced areas and said noncementitious areas to fox-mA said siding elements.

8. Thev process `of making siding elements,

termediate the boundary edges of said non-cementitious areas and said granular Asurfaced areas -and transyerselyto form siding elements.

CLARENCE R. ECHIRT. 

